


Here They Are

by Queen_in_the_North



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, Introspection, Jon's not used to having anything good in his life so he has to analyze it to death, M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-23
Updated: 2017-06-23
Packaged: 2018-11-16 15:31:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11255799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Queen_in_the_North/pseuds/Queen_in_the_North
Summary: Edward Nigma was about the last person Jonathan Crane ever expected to like, let alone be in a relationship with. And yet, here they are.





	Here They Are

**Author's Note:**

> So here's a bit of a change of pace. I thought after everything he's been through (and will go through) in my Private Investigator series, Eddie deserved a bit of fluff. I also wanted to try my hand at writing Jon's POV. Enjoy this little snapshot into Jon and Eddie's relationship.

Edward Nigma was about the last person Jonathan Crane ever expected to like, let alone be in a relationship with. And yet, here they are. 

They were sitting in the living room of their current hideout, Jonathan on their sofa, Edward sitting at their dining room table, poring over the design specs for his latest trap for Batman, chattering away about something or other. The truth was that Jonathan tuned him out some time ago, preferring instead to consider the other man as he often does.

Edward is, for lack of a better term, obnoxious. He's loud, in both voice and demeanor, he insists upon himself and he has a very underdeveloped sense of boundaries. Jonathan's lost track of how many times Edward's compromised his experiments, be it him nagging Jon to eat, chattering about his latest plan to outsmart the Bat, asking him when the last time he slept was, or simply demanding his attention. Jonathan has more than once walked in on him sprawled on his desk as if he was a Femme Fatale in a Chandler novel. Jonathan should hate it and he very frequently does, but at the same time, he doesn't. No one has ever actually wanted his undivided attention before.

Edward is a very demonstrative, tactile man. He likes big gestures, romantic dinners, sweet nothings and clinging on tight to Jonathan during and after their...activities. Jonathan lays awake at night afterwards and sometimes wonders how best to disentangle himself from Edward when he sleeps half on top of him, snoring in his ear. He never does though. No one has ever wanted to be this close to him before.

Jonathan is not a demonstrative man. He is cold and distant and he acknowledges that. He speaks maybe half as much as Edward does, preferring to let his actions speak for themselves. He and Edward spend as much time bickering as they do actually enjoying the others company (though frankly, Jonathan thinks that Edward likes the bickering and sees it as a game or occasionally, foreplay) and Jonathan knows there are some people who wonder what it is that keeps them together. Contrary to what some of their criminal brethren might think, it isn't that Jonathan doesn't understand human courtship. He's always been a practical, unsentimental man and he simply doesn't see the point in meaningless tokens and he's infinitely more comfortable with private settings than public venues. Edward's learned better than to expect more from him and yet Jonathan will occasionally swallow his pride and go along with it anyway because when he does, Edward will smile and not in his usual self-satisfied way but a genuine smile that lights up his eyes and that makes Jonathan's heart skip a beat every time he sees it. 

There are times when Edward is demanding, bratty and obnoxious, but there are also times when he'll just sit with Jonathan in silence, sometimes leaning against him, sometimes stroking his hair, just enjoying his presence. It's in these moments that Jonathan realizes just how much he loves the impossible, insufferable, _beautiful_ man.  

Edward has power over Jonathan whether he knows it or not and Jonathan should hate that, but instead he almost thinks that every struggle he's had in his life was worth it, because now he has Edward and God help whoever or whatever tries to take him away from him.

He'll never tell Edward this of course. He has appearances to keep after all. And the man's ego is puffed up enough.

"You're thinking about me again."

Speak of the Devil. Jonathan looks up to meet Edward's gaze. At some point during his musings, Edward had moved on from his blueprints to staring at Jonathan from his seat at the table. Edward looks at him with that trademark smirk, with a bit of fondness mixed in. It took some time, but Edward's learned how to read Jonathan's limited expressions and lack of flowery words and see the true meaning behind them.Jonathan should resent that, but he can't. No one's ever understood him before.

Jonathan doesn't acknowledge this, instead saying "I thought you were busy."

Edward shrugs. "I've finished with the basic schematics. Tomorrow night, we'll have to go out to obtain the raw materials."

Edward's mind is clearly made up about this, but Jonathan can't resist challenging the other man a bit. "We?"

Edward smirks again. "Don't tell me you haven't been dying to test out your latest toxin. Besides, it's been too long since we've had a night out."

"Edward," Jonathan points out. "The last time we had a night out, we wound up in Arkham for three weeks. Two of which you spent in traction."

Edward waves a hand dismissively. "Details Jon." He gets up from his chair and flops down next to Jon on the sofa, stretching his arms out and resting his head on Jon's shoulder. Despite how often this occurs, Jonathan can't help but stiffen a bit. He's still not fully used to the idea of someone wanting to touch him without also wanting to hurt him. Edward to his credit, knows better than to point this out, simply snuggling in closer to Jonathan's side.

Jonathan raised an eyebrow. "There's more than enough room on the couch. You don't need to be nearly on top of me."

Edward merely wraps his arms around Jon's middle. "This is sufficient," he said.

Jonathan shifts slightly. Edward's grip tightens. Then he moves from sitting at Jonathan's side to sitting on his lap, effectively pinning him to his spot on the couch. He braces his knees on either side of Jonathan's scrawny hips and places his hands on Jonathan's shoulders so that he's looking directly at him. Jonathan's eyes narrow as he looks at Edward's far too smug face. "Your insistence on invading my personal space is no where near as charming as you think it is."

Edward looks up at him with a smirk. "So you admit it's a little charming?"

Jonathan rolls his eyes. If he really wants to, he could shove Edward off and stalk off to the basement. Instead, he wraps his arms around Edward's hips and tugs him a little closer. He's in an indulgent mood. "Insufferable little fool," he almost growls out at him.

Edward's grin becomes even more smug, if such a thing is even possible. "You know you love me," he sassed. 

Jonathan doesn't reply, instead pulling in Edward for a kiss. Edward responds to it with an eager moan and moves his hands to run his fingers through Jon's hair, like he always does, and Jonathan's heart races a bit. No one has ever wanted him like this before.

The more cynical part of Jonathan's mind tells him that this can't end well, because nothing in his life ever has, but when he pulls away to catch his breath and Edward looks at him, face flushed, eyes soft and mouth spread out into a genuine smile, Jonathan can't bring himself to care. There's only now, Edward is his and he is Edward's and that's all that matters.


End file.
